LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM - MAY 24: In this handout image provided by UEFA, final preparations are made to the pitch at Wembley Stadium for the Champions League Final, May 24, 2011 in London, England. The UEFA Champions League final between FC Barcelona and Manchester United FC will be held at Wembley stadium on May 28. (Photo by UEFA via Getty Images)

Young Blues travel to the South West in Checkatrade Trophy

LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM - MAY 24: In this handout image provided by UEFA, final preparations are made to the pitch at Wembley Stadium for the Champions League Final, May 24, 2011 in London, England. The UEFA Champions League final between FC Barcelona and Manchester United FC will be held at Wembley stadium on May 28. (Photo by UEFA via Getty Images)

Chelsea’s Development Squad will face three trips to the South West in this season’s Checkatrade Trophy after the draw for the group stages was made on Wednesday.

The Checkatrade Trophy, otherwise known as the Football League Trophy was reorganised last season on a trial basis to include a number of Category One academy sides and that experiment will continue into a second season in 2017/2018.

Chelsea have again accepted their invitation to field their Development Squad in the competition and it has been revealed that The Blues will face West Country trio Exeter City, Plymouth Argyle and Yeovil Town in the group stages of this season’s tournament.

It has been decided that all three of The Blues’ Checkatrade Trophy fixtures will be played away from home with match dates, kick-off times and ticket prices to be decided in due course.

The draw has again provided Chelsea’s youngsters with some real challenges in the group stage. Sky Bet League Two club Exeter City have a very highly rated academy system which has produced a number of stars in recent years while Plymouth Argyle were promoted from English football’s fourth tier last season.

Third opponents Yeovil Town have an excellent cup pedigree from years gone by and The Blues will do well to advance to the knockout stages of the competition.

About Author

I am Dan Pentland and I am a York City season ticket holder and volunteer for men's health charity Prostate Cancer UK. In May 2015, I completed my childhood dream of visiting all 92 Football League grounds. Follow me on Twitter @DanPentlandpcuk and Facebook https://www.facebook.com/dpentlandawaydayspcuk/

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